Astrid Jorgensen

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Astrid Jorgensen OAM is an Australian vocalist, conductor and composer. She is the founder and director of Pub Choir .

Contents

Early life

Jorgensen was born in Hamilton, New Zealand, and emigrated to Brisbane, Australia, in 1998. [1] [2] She attended Lourdes Hill College in Brisbane, graduating in 2006 as college captain. [3] In school she had lessons in piano, violin, and voice. [2]

She studied a Bachelor of Arts (Music) and a Graduate Diploma of Education at the University of Queensland, [4] and a Master of Music Studies (Vocal Performance) at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. [1] [5] While at the University of Queensland, Jorgensen trained in the Kodály method. [4]

Career

In 2011 Jorgensen formed the band Astrid & the Asteroids. [6] The group was awarded the Billy Thorpe Scholarship at the 2012 Queensland Music Awards, [7] and later disbanded in 2014. [6]

After graduating from university she worked as a high school music and vocal teacher in Brisbane and Townsville and conducted several community choirs. [8] [9]

In 2017 Jorgensen founded Pub Choir in West End, Brisbane. [10] [11] At each Pub Choir event, Jorgensen arranges a popular song and teaches it to a non-trained audience in three-part harmony, concluding with a performance which is filmed and shared on social media. [10] Jorgensen utilises a unique form of musical notation incorporating colour-coded contoured text and comedic visual cues to teach at Pub Choir, so that musical literacy is not required for audience participation. [12] Each show is improvised, with Jorgensen responding to the audience's progress in real-time. [12] Pub Choir gained international attention in November 2017 when their rendition of Zombie by The Cranberries went viral online. [13]

In 2018 Jorgensen was the resident choral arranger and conductor for Neil Finn’s Out of Silence show at HOTA. [14] She arranged the songs Sisters and Ready or Not on the Spinifex Gum album Sisters with Felix Riebl and Ollie McGill from The Cat Empire . She was a featured guest in Tim Rogers' Liquid Nights in Bohemia Heights shows in 2019. [15]

In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent cancellation of planned Pub Choir events, Jorgensen launched "Couch Choir". [16] [17] She arranged and uploaded three vocal harmonies of the song (They Long To Be) Close To You by The Carpenters to social media, inviting anybody to learn a part, film themselves singing it, and send it back for inclusion in a final video. [17] There were over 1000 submissions from 18 different countries, and the project was featured on Australian Story. [18] The final video was also shared by Richard Carpenter. [19] Jorgensen continued to host free "Couch Choir" events throughout the pandemic, attracting tens of thousands of participants from over 50 countries. [11]

Jorgensen has also worked as a producer for ABC Radio Brisbane, [5] and has performed as a keyboardist in Australian indie rock band The Grates . [20]

In 2021 Jorgensen was a consultant executive producer for the television special Australia's Biggest Singalong!, which was broadcast live on SBS from Sydney Town Hall. [21] [22] The two-hour special was co-created by Pub Choir in collaboration with Artemis Media and SBS and was hosted by Julia Zemiro and Miranda Tapsell. [21] Throughout the interactive special, Jorgensen taught the live audience and home viewers a vocal arrangement of "Throw Your Arms Around Me" by Hunters & Collectors in real-time. [23] [24]

Recognition

Jorgensen was awarded the 2019 Queensland Community Foundation Emerging Philanthropist of the Year as a result of her charitable work with Pub Choir. [25] She was also a 2020 Queensland Young Australian of The Year nominee. [26] In 2021 she was named one of the 40 Under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australians by the Asian-Australian Leadership Summit. [27]

In the King’s Birthday Honours on 12 June 2023, Jorgensen was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). [28]

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References

  1. 1 2 Kerr, Olivia (16 June 2022). "Astrid Jorgensen on Pub Choir". Andrew Leigh MP. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Pub Choir — beer, singing and Kate Bush". ABC. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  3. ↑ Staff Writers (30 December 2006). "Mission to help out in Zambia". The Catholic Leader. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  4. 1 2 Usasz, Greta. "Pub Choir goes digital to keep community in harmony". stories.uq.edu.au. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  5. 1 2 Crossen, Louise (18 July 2019). "Griffith alumnus goes global with Pub Choir". news.griffith.edu.au. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  6. 1 2 "TBT: The Astronomical Astrid & The Asteroids". Music Is My Muse. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  7. ↑ "Billy Thorpe Scholarship". QMusic. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  8. ↑ "Pub Choir — beer, singing and Kate Bush". ABC. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  9. ↑ Whiting, Frances (9 December 2023). "'Power of song': How Astrid Jorgensen turned Pub Choir into a sell-out sensation". The Courier Mail QWeekend. pp. 8–10. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  10. 1 2 McMillen, Andrew (23 March 2018). "Pub Choir: Brisbane grassroots event where everyone's urged to sing". The Australian.
  11. 1 2 "Beer, bass notes and the Bee Gees' Barry Gibb: my night at Brisbane's revitalised Pub Choir". the Guardian. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  12. 1 2 Bachelard, Michael (12 April 2024). "Meet Australia's biggest performing artist you've probably never heard of". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  13. ↑ McMillen, Andrew (24 March 2018). "Brisbane's Pub Choir Movement Marks First Year". The Australian.
  14. ↑ "A rowdy sing-a-long has never sounded so good". HOTA. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  15. ↑ Moyle, Tracey (10 August 2019). "REVIEW: Tim Rogers – Liquid Nights in Bohemia Heights, Brisbane Powerhouse, 09/08/2019". Good Call Live. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  16. ↑ Leigh, Andrew (2020). Reconnected: A community builder's handbook. Australia: La Trobe University Press. pp. 133–134. ISBN   9781760642617.
  17. 1 2 Hinchliffe, Jessica (23 March 2020). "1,000 singers, 18 countries: Pub Choir's Couch Choir brings light during coronavirus crisis". ABC News. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  18. ↑ One Day at a Time, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 27 March 2020, retrieved 8 April 2020
  19. ↑ "Login | Chronicle". www.thechronicle.com.au. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  20. ↑ "HRchat Interview with Astrid Jorgensen: Embracing People Where They're at is Key to Progress". The HR Gazette. 22 July 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  21. 1 2 "Australia's Biggest Singalong! - Production credits". Programs. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  22. ↑ "Great Australian voices join Julia Zemiro and Miranda Tapsell for 'Australia's Biggest Singalong!'". Guide. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  23. ↑ McManus, Bridget (22 May 2021). "Need a hit of euphoria? Julia Zemiro has just the ticket". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  24. ↑ "Time to hold a tune". The West Australian. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  25. ↑ Downes, Kirsten. "QCF 2019 Philanthropist of the Year Awards". QCF. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  26. ↑ "Queensland nominees announced for 60th anniversary of the Australian of the Year Awards - Australian of the Year". Australia Day Council. No. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  27. ↑ "40 Under 40 Awards - 2021 Winners". www.asianaustralianleadership.com.au. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  28. ↑ "King's Birthday Honours".
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